CHAPTER 42（ARYAN）
Two days.
That was all it took for everything to start falling apart inside me.
Two days without Mahi.
Two days of silence.
Two days of nothing.
And I was still standing in the same place... trying to convince myself I hadn't already lost her.
I hadn't slept.
I couldn't.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.
Unconscious in that video call.
Her face pale.
Her hands still.
And Raj's smile.
That smile was burned into my mind now.
I sat in front of the laptop again, staring at the same failing trace results.
Nothing.
Still nothing.
I ran a hand through my hair harshly, leaning back in the chair.
"Where are you..." I muttered.
My voice didn't even sound like mine anymore.
Ekansh was beside me, still working.
Still trying.
But even he was quieter now.
Tired.
Frustrated.
"We checked every possible network route," he said finally. "It's like she doesn't exist in any system right now."
My jaw tightened instantly.
"That's impossible."
He looked at me.
But didn't argue.
Because we both knew what this meant.
Whoever had her wasn't just careful.
They were prepared.
I stood up suddenly.
The chair scraped back hard.
"I don't care how," I said sharply. "Find something. Anything. A vehicle. A witness. A shadow on a camera. I don't care what it is."
My voice cracked slightly at the end.
And I hated that.
Because weakness was something I couldn't afford right now.
Not when she was out there.
Somewhere.
I walked toward the window, gripping the edge of the table.
The mansion outside looked the same.
Peaceful.
Normal.
Like nothing was wrong.
But inside me...
Everything was breaking.
"She would've called me by now," I said quietly.
Ekansh didn't respond.
Because there was no answer to that.
I turned back to him.
"She wouldn't just disappear," I added, voice lower now.
More unstable.
"Not without telling me something."
Silence.
Heavy.
Then my phone rang.
My body reacted instantly.
I grabbed it so fast it almost slipped.
Unknown number.
My heart stopped for half a second.
I answered immediately.
"Hello?"
Static.
Then—
A voice.
Not Mahi.
I already knew before it even spoke.
"Still searching, Aryan?"
My grip tightened.
Raj.
My entire body went cold and hot at the same time.
"Where is she?" I said instantly, voice dangerous.
A soft laugh came through the line.
"She's safe."
I closed my eyes for a second.
That word meant nothing coming from him.
"Let me talk to her," I said sharply.
Pause.
Then—
"No."
My breathing changed instantly.
Something inside me snapped slightly at that.
"She's fine," Raj continued casually. "But she's starting to understand things."
My fingers tightened around the phone so hard it hurt.
"If you've hurt her—"
"I haven't," he interrupted.
Too calm.
Too controlled.
"And you won't find her either."
Silence.
Then the call ended.
Just like that.
I stood frozen for a second.
Phone still pressed to my ear.
Then slowly... I lowered it.
My hand was shaking.
Not from fear anymore.
From rage.
Pure, burning rage.
I turned toward Ekansh.
"It's him," I said lowly.
He already knew.
My eyes darkened.
"She's alive," I added.
A pause.
Then my voice dropped even further.
"And now I know one thing."
I looked at the phone again.
"Two days is already too much."
My jaw clenched tightly.
"I'm done waiting."
The call didn't leave my head.
Even after it ended.
Even after the silence came back.
"She's fine."
Those words kept echoing like a bad joke I couldn't escape from.
My grip tightened around the phone.
He didn't let me speak to her.
Again.
That alone was enough to make my blood boil.
I turned back to the laptop instantly.
Faster this time.
Angrier.
More desperate.
"There has to be something," I muttered under my breath.
Ekansh was already watching me.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't need to.
He could see it.
The way my patience was gone.
The way my control was slipping.
I started running another trace.
Then another.
Different angles.
Different systems.
Every possible route I could think of.
Nothing.
Still nothing.
My fist hit the table again.
Harder this time.
"DAMN IT!" I snapped.
The sound echoed through the room.
Ekansh stepped forward slightly. "Aryan—calm down—"
"HOW DO I CALM DOWN?" I cut him off sharply.
My chest was tight.
My breathing uneven.
"She's out there and I can't even find a shadow of her!"
Silence.
Heavy.
Thick.
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing again.
Two days.
And now Raj's voice again.
Calm.
Smug.
Like this was a game.
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
"He's playing with me," I said lowly.
Ekansh nodded slowly. "Yes."
That answer didn't help.
At all.
I stopped walking.
Turned back to the screen.
Stared at it like it had personally betrayed me.
"No CCTV," I muttered.
"No tracking."
"No leads."
My voice dropped lower.
Almost dangerous now.
"So he planned everything."
Ekansh didn't respond immediately.
Because we both knew it was true.
I exhaled sharply.
And for a moment... just a moment...
The anger inside me shifted.
Into something colder.
More focused.
More dangerous.
"I don't care how perfect his plan is," I said quietly.
My eyes darkened.
"I will break it."
I grabbed my phone again.
Opened Raj's call log.
Stared at it.
Like it might give me answers if I looked hard enough.
My voice dropped to a whisper.
"You took her from me..."
A pause.
Then my grip tightened.
"...now I'm coming for everything you used to hide her."
Night had already fallen when my phone rang again.
I didn't need to check the screen this time.
I already knew.
Raj.
I picked up immediately.
"Finally," his voice came through, calm as ever.
My jaw tightened.
"Cut the games," I said coldly. "Where is she?"
A soft laugh.
"You're impatient."
"I'm not here to talk," I snapped. "I want her location."
A pause.
Then—
"I can give it to you."
My grip on the phone tightened slightly.
"But..."
There it was.
The condition.
"You come alone, Aryan."
Silence.
My expression didn't change.
But inside—
Everything turned sharper.
"If I see even one extra person," Raj continued slowly, "it will become very dangerous for Mahi."
My chest tightened at her name.
A warning.
A threat.
Disguised as control.
I looked toward Ekansh, who was already watching me closely.
Raj continued.
"So... are you coming or not?"
I exhaled slowly.
Then said,
"I'm coming."
The line went quiet for a second.
Then he sent it.
A single location pin.
And the call ended.
Silence swallowed the room.
Ekansh stepped forward immediately.
"What did he say?"
I turned the screen toward him.
One location.
One trap.
And Mahi in the middle of it.
"He wants me alone," I said quietly.
Ekansh's face tightened instantly. "No chance."
I nodded.
"Obviously not."
I walked toward the table, pulling out my laptop again.
My mind was already shifting.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Planning.
"Listen carefully," I said, voice low but firm.
Ekansh focused instantly.
"I'll go inside," I continued. "I'll make him believe I came alone."
His eyes narrowed. "And then?"
I opened a secure channel on the screen.
Typed fast.
Code.
Coordinates.
Team setup.
"I want shooters on every exit point," I said. "No movement in or out without our signal."
Ekansh was already nodding, listening closely.
"Hacker team ready?" I asked.
"Already on standby," he replied.
"Good."
My jaw tightened.
"And I want live tracking on me and her location the second I enter."
He didn't hesitate. "Done."
I leaned back slightly, eyes darkening.
"Once I find her..."
A pause.
My voice dropped lower.
"...you blow the perimeter wall."
Ekansh looked at me sharply.
"And extract her immediately," I finished.
Silence.
Then he nodded once.
"Understood."
I picked up my phone again.
Looked at the location pin.
My grip tightened.
Raj thought this was a game of conditions.
But he had already made his first mistake.
He assumed I would come alone.
I turned off the screen and stood up slowly.
"No matter what happens," I said quietly, "Mahi is coming back."
My eyes hardened.
"And this ends tonight."
The moment I stepped out of the car... I knew it.
Something was wrong.
The air felt different.
Too quiet.
Too controlled.
I didn't wait.
I moved forward anyway.
Every instinct inside me was screaming to be careful, but there was no patience left in me now.
Not after two days.
Not after that call.
Not after hearing her name used like that.
I walked inside the structure.
Dark.
Abandoned-looking from the outside, but too structured to be random.
This wasn't a hideout.
It was planned.
My hand stayed near my pocket, my senses fully alert.
"Raj," I called out, voice sharp.
No answer.
Only silence.
Then—
A faint sound behind me.
I turned slightly—
Too late.
Pain exploded at the side of my head.
Everything tilted.
My vision blurred instantly.
I staggered back, trying to react, but my body wasn't listening fast enough anymore.
The last thing I heard was a faint voice somewhere in the distance.
And then—
Everything went black.
When I woke up...
My head was still heavy.
My vision slowly adjusted.
Cold air.
Dim light.
My hands twitched as I tried to move—
Then I stopped.
Because the first thing I saw...
Was her.
Mahi.
My breath caught instantly.
She was there in front of me.
Too still.
Too quiet.
My heart slammed hard against my chest as I tried to process it.
"Mahi..." I tried to say.
But my voice barely came out.
Something inside me cracked immediately.
Because no matter how much I told myself I was prepared for anything...
Seeing her like that broke every piece of control I had left.
My body tried to move instinctively toward her—
But I realized I wasn't free to reach her.
And that was when the anger started rising.
Slow.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Because now I understood.
This wasn't just a trap.
This was personal.
And Raj had just made the biggest mistake of his life.
My breathing turned uneven the moment I saw her.
Mahi.
Right in front of me.
Too still.
Too quiet.
My chest tightened instantly as I tried to move forward again—instinct taking over everything else.
But something held me back.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Because I could feel it.
I wasn't alone here.
A slow clap echoed from somewhere behind her.
My jaw tightened immediately.
Of course.
Raj.
He stepped into view behind her like he owned the space.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Smiling.
Like none of this mattered.
Like she didn't matter.
My fists clenched instantly.
"Let her go," I said lowly.
My voice didn't shake.
But everything inside me was on fire.
Raj tilted his head slightly, ignoring me completely for a second.
Then he looked at her.
His hand rested on her shoulder.
My entire body reacted instantly.
"Don't touch her," I snapped, stepping forward.
Raj's smile widened slightly.
And then—
he leaned closer to her.
"Wake up, darling," he said softly.
My blood ran colder.
"He's here," he continued, voice almost playful now. "Aryan is here."
Something inside me snapped at the way he said her name.
At the way he acted like she was nothing more than an object in his control.
My breathing got heavier.
My eyes stayed locked on Mahi.
Come on...
Wake up.
Just wake up.
Raj turned his head toward me slowly.
And smiled.
That same calm, disgusting smile.
"See?" he said lightly. "I told you she'd be part of this meeting."
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
"You wanted me here," I said coldly. "I'm here."
Raj shrugged.
Every muscle in my body tight.
Every thought focused.
On him.
On her.
On ending this.
"Touch her again," I said lowly, voice sharp now, "and I swear this ends in a way you won't survive."
Raj laughed softly.
But his hand didn't leave her shoulder.
And that was when I stopped thinking.
And started planning how fast I could make him regret existing.
Raj finally looked at me properly.
Like he was seeing me for the first time in the room.
That smile didn't leave his face.
It only sharpened.
"You still talk too much," he said casually.
My eyes stayed locked on him.
Every muscle in my body was tight.
Calculating.
Waiting.
"Untie me," I said again, slower this time.
Raj tilted his head.
"Or what?"
Silence.
Heavy.
He took a step closer to me.
Not rushing.
Not afraid.
Like he had all the time in the world.
That was the part I hated the most.
"Look at you," he said softly. "Still trying to act like you're in control."
My jaw clenched.
"You think you are?" I asked.
Raj smiled faintly.
"I don't think," he said. "I know."
My hands were tied.
Behind me.
Rough.
Restricting.
But I didn't move against it yet.
Not because I couldn't.
Because I was watching him.
Learning him.
His rhythm.
His mistakes.
My eyes flicked briefly toward Mahi again.
Still unmoving.
Something inside me twisted violently.
But I forced my focus back.
Raj noticed.
Of course he did.
He always noticed the wrong things at the right time.
"You care about her too much," he said, almost amused.
I didn't respond.
That silence seemed to irritate him more than words.
He crouched slightly in front of me.
Now we were eye level.
"Tell me, Aryan," he said slowly. "What do you think you are going to do here?"
I leaned forward slightly despite the restraints.
And smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Dangerously.
"I'm going to take her," I said quietly.
A pause.
Raj blinked once.
Then laughed.
Softly at first.
Then louder.
Like I had told him something entertaining.
"You?" he said. "Tied like that?"
My voice dropped lower.
"I don't need my hands for what I'm going to do to you."
The laughter stopped.
Instantly.
The air changed.
Raj's expression cooled.
For the first time...
there was something sharp in his eyes.
Not fear.
Recognition.
That I wasn't bluffing.
He stood up slowly.
And I saw it.
The shift.
This wasn't just a game for him anymore.
It never was.
But now...
It had just become personal for both of us.
Behind him, Mahi still didn't move.
And that made everything worse.
Because now I wasn't just thinking about winning.
I was thinking about ending him.
Completely.
I didn't look away from Raj.
Not even for a second.
Because the moment I did, I knew I'd lose control.
And right now... control was the only thing I had left.
Raj was still standing there, watching me like I was some experiment he was waiting to break.
Then—
I heard footsteps.
Slow.
Familiar in a way I couldn't place immediately.
But my body reacted before my mind did.
Something shifted in the air.
Raj noticed it too.
His lips twitched slightly.
And then—
she walked in.
Kavya.
My jaw tightened instantly.
Of course.
My eyes snapped to her immediately.
"What is she doing here?" I said sharply, voice low.
Raj didn't answer.
He just smiled.
That was enough.
Kavya stopped a few steps away, looking at me.
Not shocked.
Not surprised.
Like she had been waiting for this moment.
That made my blood boil.
"You," I said coldly, staring at her now.
Her eyes flickered slightly.
But she didn't look away.
"You're part of this?" I asked, voice sharper now.
Silence.
Raj answered instead.
"She always was."
My fists clenched behind me against the ropes.
Anger surged instantly.
Not blind anger.
Focused.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"So this was never just about her," I said slowly.
My eyes flicked briefly toward Mahi.
Still unconscious.
Still too still.
Something inside me twisted hard at the sight.
I forced my gaze back to Kavya.
"You helped him," I said quietly.
Kavya finally spoke.
"You took what wasn't yours."
That sentence hit differently.
Not because it was true.
But because it was personal.
My jaw tightened so hard it hurt.
"I didn't take anything," I said sharply. "She chose—"
"She doesn't know what she chose," Raj cut in immediately.
My head snapped back to him.
The room felt smaller now.
Tighter.
He smiled again, but there was something darker behind it now.
"She was never supposed to be part of your life," Raj continued.
My breathing got heavier.
Every word was a trigger.
But I didn't react the way they wanted.
I exhaled slowly instead.
Controlled.
Calm on the outside.
Storm on the inside.
"So this is it," I said quietly.
My eyes moved between both of them.
"Two people who can't accept reality."
Silence.
Then I leaned slightly forward against the restraints.
And smiled.
Cold.
Sharp.
"You brought me here," I said softly. "You think that was smart."
Raj's expression changed slightly.
Kavya stiffened just a little.
I looked at Mahi again for half a second.
Then back at them.
"But now I know exactly who to destroy first."
And for the first time...
none of them spoke immediately.